Ornamental product and method of producing same



ORNAMENTAL PRODUCT AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Filed Feb. 15. 1928 lm o/ zyzmiz'zqy 01! 11 9 firyjny an dredgi g 7- f r/ace .rmoaiiw H i ad i I INVENTOR. [528% a f g Zahara WVaihsv/z Patented Get. 11, 1932 RICHARD v. MATTISON, or Alumna;rnnnsxrva vranssrenon, BYMEsnn AssIGN- MEnrs, T AMBLEII. AsBnsros SHINGLE & snnepr'nme COMPANY, A conrone'rron OF PENNSYLVANIA OENAMENTAL PRODUCT AND .METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Application filed February 15, 1928. Serial No 254,474..

My invention relates to sheets and slabs provided with decorative surface effects such as imitation tiling and the like. y

The object of my invention is to provide such material in simple durable form' with a smooth tile-like surface finish.

A further object of my invention particularly in the method used to produce the permanent tile-like effect will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective View ofa sheet decorated by ruling and forming a surface which is like tile inappearance.

Fig. 1a is a section of a groove ofthe sheet shown in Fig. 1, j

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet or slab as it may be first formed beforeit is pressed. V

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the sheet as it is being impregnated with a toughening water-proof compound; 1

Fig. l is a diagrammatic view showing the sheet being treated to dry the sheet and oxi-' dize the impregnated compound within it.-

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the trimming of the sheet to desired'size.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate ways of applying a surface coating to the sheet. 4 Fig. 8 indicates a method of drying the surface coating on the sheets in a closed at-' mosphere. r

Fig. 9 illustrates diagrammatically one form of decoration by cross grooving the surface of the sheet, and V Fig. 10 illustrates the pressing operation finishing ed the surface of the coating.

In the particular embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1 the slab or sheet 11 which may be of asbestos cementcompost tion has its surface provided with a thermoplastic coating 12 and with grooves 13 or other decoration scored or pressed into the surface of the sheet. The thermo-plastic material12 is given a smooth surface finish and high polish, and at the same time is rounded over at the edges of the grooving 13, for

instance at 14: (Fig. 1a), so as to form ajclose permanent seal between the thermo-plastic material and the edges of the grooving and rice-1* minimize the danger of ripping off the'plastic material.

in oneprocess of producing this product 7 an asbestos and cement base in theform of a sheet or slab :(Fig. 2) 1s first manufactured accordlng to any suitable known process and hardened, and after hardening is then very thoroughly dried at about 250 F. so that the residual moisture does not amount to more than a fraction of 1%. This sheet in hot conditionis thensoaked in a"toughening water-proofing oil such as linseed or chinawood oil (Fig. 3), the oilbeing diluted or outwith afdiluent such as gasoline-to give thorough penetration, equal amounts ofifo l and gasoline being generally satisfactory for V the sheet'with the diluted oil may be accomwater-proof sheets are'then sanded in a.

three-roll sanding machine or otherwise surface-finished'to smooth them as" far'as prac ticable to remove any high spots and take off this purpose. Usuallyfthis impregnationof plished within an hour o'rtwo for sheets- 0f about 4 (one quarter of an inch) inthickany projecting defects. This sanding opera- 5 tion usually removes 0.001 to 0.002 ofaninch l and the sheets are then ready for the coating operation, it being understood that at this point or some other desired point in the process the sheetistrimmed and squared at the edges to proper size and shape by means such as indicated at 15 in Fig. 5. 1

The thermoplastic material which, may

for instancebe a pyroxylin or acetylcellulose lacquer or other similar material, is applied to the surfaceof the sheet as a smooth layer of substantially uniform thickness. either. by

flowing (Fig. 6) or by rolls (Fig.7) or in g V 9. p

any other desired'manner. By fiowin'g su t;

0.004 'of an inch to give the the compartment being closed for instance by'a door 17 so that in this closed chamber the solvent laden atmosphere reduces the rate of drying so asto permit the lacquer to form a generally smooth surface at low. or room temperature over the entire sheet, thus substantially leveling any marking or striping developed during the applying of the lac quer. The lacquered sheets arealiowed to remain in the enclosed car for a period of about two hours after which the car chambers are partially opened up andthe sheets are allowed to remain in this condition until the lacquer is set. This ordinarily requires approximately one hour. The sheets are then removed and passed to a low' temperature drier where they remain for about two'hours after which they are removed from the drier and allowed to cool.

When the lacquer on thesurface has dried,

the sheets are ready for scoring or other decorative marking, the scoring of sheet shown in Fig. lrbeing accomplished )referably'by grinding wheelsgrinding away the surface to form the grooves 13 andin this connection I have found that the impregnation of the asbestos cement material with the oxidized oilv is very helpful in preventing the fibrous material from tearing out, producing a smooth surface grooving free from projecting fibres of asbestos. After scoring the sheets are thoroughly cleaned to remove all traces of dust. y r

' The lacquered and'grooved sheets are now similar in appearance to tiling, but lack the highly polished glazed appearance of'tiling,

' which I have found impossible to impart to the sheets by merely lacquering methods.

I have discovered that a highly polished glazed appearance may be given to the thermoplastic material and at the same time a very firm and durable bond effected between the thermo-plastic and the base material by finally subjecting the lacquered sheet to heat and pressure, the pressure being applied in such a way to permit the thermoplastic to yield and follow any irregularities in the surface of the sheet, and also giving to the lacquer a highly polished but slightly irregular surface characteri'stic, of glazed tiling. In order to accomplish this, heat is apinch) sheet 18. of soft metal such as zinc is backed by a number of layers (3 to 6) of blotting paper 19,-which in turn are backed by a number of layers (about 12) of flannel sheets 20 resting against a rigid support 21. Pressure on this support compresses the thin zinc sheet against the surface of the lacquer and this together with the heat applied by steam in press plate 22 gives the characteristic glazed effect to the thermo-plastic surface. In practice I apply the heat and pressure for about one minute and then while still holding the pressure I apply a cooling to the material for several minutes by running water through the plate 22 so as to fix the thermo-plastic lacquer surface in its. glazed form, the cooling carrying the temperature of the surface downto something abovethe ordinary room temperature. After this" I find that the flexible sheet strips veryreadily from the surface of the thermo-plastic material, which is thus left in its finally polished finished form ready for shipment to the consumer. It .will be understood that the sheet 11 is applied with its lacquered coati g 12, face down, to the sheet 18; In this method of ornamenting I find that the final surface effect will depend not only on the thinness'of the sheet and itsyieldable qualities but, with such a thin yieldable sheet against the thermo-plastic material,'the character of the backing material will also bea factor. A cloth backing tends to show through by imparting a fabric appearance to the final thermo-plastic surface and similarly very delicate and beautiful efiects may be attained by backing of lace-like or other finely textured orhighly ornamental material.

In-the' specific example above given blotting paper is used as it is neutral in character and leaves the surface to form freely into a very pleasing high polish due to the surface polish ofthe'thin metal and irregular ripk pling so characteristic of glazed tiling, this rippling" beingdue to the cooperation of the thinmeta l and the yielding backing. Atthe same time the flexible sheet follows the irregularities of the base material and the thermo-plastic coating so as to reach down into and properly finish the low spots and hollows and apply the same high pressure uniformly throughout the entire sheet to produce a characteristic effect 'dueto the action of the soft materials under the applied pressure. 1 1 1 w I have found it important to render the base material waterproof without at the same time interfering with the thorough bond which must beformedbetween the base and the thermo-plastic coating. With the sheet 11 of Portland cement and asbestos fibres the impregnation with a diluted oxidizing oil does not weaken but rather strengthens the bond between the thermo-plastic and the base. Without this impregnation the coat.- ing and finishing operations tend to develop air bubbles from the base material marring the finish of thecoating and weakening the bond between the coating and the base.

While my invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment utilizing material of asbestos and Portland cement as a base, it is not confined thereto but may be applied to thermo-plastic coatings on any other base materials, for instance card, or fibre board or any hydraulic cement material or on blocks or sheeting of thermo-plastic material without base material backing. The invention is not confined to the specific examples given above but is intended to cover such modifications thereof as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. An ornamental product comprising an article having a thermo-plastic coating grooved and with its surface between the grooves characterized by highly polished ir- 40 is applied.

, stantially with irregularities in the surface regularities, the edges of the thermo-plastic material terminating at the grooves and be ing slightly rounded.

2. An ornamental product comprising a base material having a thermo-plastic coating whose exposed surface has highly polished irregularities characteristic of fused tiling, the irregularities of the coating substantially conforming with irregularities in the surface of the base to which the coating 3. An ornamental product comprising a base material of asbestos and cement and a surface layer of thermo-plastic material with an outer face of highly polished irregularities characteristic of fused tiling, the irregularities of the surface layer conforming subof the base material to which the surface layer is applied.

4. An ornamental product comprising a base material of asbestos and cement and a surface layer of thermo-plasticmaterial grooved and with its surface between the grooves having, highly; polished irregulari ties characteristic of fused tiling, the edges of the thermo-plastic material terminating at the grooves and being slightly rounded.

5. An ornamental product comprising a base material of cement and fibres impreg 50 nated with a water-proofing compound and having a surface coating of thermo-plastic material forming a close bond with the base material and having an irregular highly polished surface.

6. An ornamental product comprising 7 a base material of cement and asbestos fibres impregnated with an oxidizedwater-proofing oil and having a surface'coati-ng of thermo-plastic material not over .005 ofan inch thickforming a close bond withthje base material, and having an irregular' highly polished surface. g g 7. Anornamental product: comprising a base material of cement and asbestos-fibres impregnated with an oxidized water-proofing oil and having a surface grooving anda surface coating ofLthermo-plastic material forming'a close bond'with the base material and having an irregularhighly polished 'sur- H face similar to fused' tiling.

8. The process ofproducingan ornamental product comprising providing a sheet or slab of base material 'applyinga coating of thermo-plastic material thereon, and pressing the surface of said thermo-plastic material by a thin yieldable sheet having a yield:

ingthe-surface of said thermoi-plastic material by a thin yieldable sheet having a yieldable backing, and simultaneously heating said thermo-plastic material during 7 said pressing operation, and then cooling said thermo-plastic material while holding said y pressure.

10. The process of producing an ornamented article comprising providing a relatively rigid sheet or slab of asbestos and cement material, impregnatingsaid material said material with a layer of thermo-plastic with a water-proofing compound, coating ioo material, grooving through said coating, and i then pressing said thermo-plastic material to form a uniform highly polishedv surface 11o thereon.

11. The process ofproducing an ornamental product comprising driving a sheet of as-.

bestos and cement composition, impregnate ing said sheet with a waterproofing material,

heating and drying said sheet to harden said waterproofing material, applying to the surface of the sheet one or more coatings of a thermoplastic material in liquid form to give a thorough bond between the coating and the sheet, and polishing the surface of saidther moplastic material to give a brilliantlyreflective decorative finish.

12. The process 'of producing an ornamental product comprising drying a'sheet of asbestos and cement compositiomimpregnating said sheet with a waterproofing material composed of o'xidizable V vegetable oil and thinner to hardensaid material by evaporae tion and oxidation, heating and drying said sheet to harden said waterproofing material,

use

applying to the surface of'the sheet one or more coating Of a. thermoplasticcellulose est-er material in liquid form to givea thorough bond between the coating and the sheet, and polishing the surface ofsaid thermoplastic material togive. a brilliantly reflective decorative finish. v c

13. Avdecorativ'e slab or sheet comprising anasbestos and cement composition impreg nated with a Waterproofing material, and a plurality of layers of a thermoplastic coat- I 'ing on a 'smoothedsurface of said slab or 7 sheet, the thermoplastic layer against the sheet or slab having a close bond with the said Waterproofing material, and the surface layer of the thermoplastic material having a high polish. V I

14. A decorative slab or sheet comprising an asbestos and cement composition impregnated with awaterproofing material composed of oxidizedvegetable oil, and a plurality of layers-of a thermoplastic cellulose ester coating on a smoothed surface of said slab or sheet, the thermoplastic layer against -25 the sheet or slab having a close bond With the said Waterproofing material, and the surface layer of the thermoplastic material having a high polish. r

RICHARD V. MATTISON. 

